Pour spout for facilitating pouring a liquid from a container

ABSTRACT

A pour spout ( 1 ) has an elongate conduit portion ( 3 ) obliquely projecting from a coupling cap portion ( 4 ), which is arranged for coupling to a container ( 2 ). At least one sealing surface ( 6, 7, 8 ) of the coupling cap portion is arranged for sealing engagement around the opening of the container. A venting channel ( 18 ) interrupts the at least one sealing surface ( 6, 7, 8 ) for allowing venting of the container ( 2 ) through a passage between the coupling cap portion ( 4 ) and a portion of the container facing the venting channel. The venting channel ( 18 ) is provided on one single lateral side of the coupling cap portion ( 4 ) only. The lateral side where the venting channel ( 18 ) is provided is in a radial direction in which an angle between the longitudinal direction of the conduit portion ( 3 ) and the plane ( 19 ) is smallest.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a pour spout for facilitating pouring a liquid from a container into a narrow opening, such as an opening of a tank, without spilling liquid.

Pouring liquid out of a container, such as a tank or a bottle, into a narrow opening without spilling is a long existing problem, in particular in the field of car maintenance, for instance when refilling window washer liquid and topping-up engine oil. A more recent need is re-filling diesel cars with a liquid commercially available under the name ‘Adblue’, an aqueous urea solution made with urea and deionized water, which is consumed in selective catalytic reduction (SCR) that lowers NO_(x) concentration in diesel exhaust gases.

A common approach for avoiding spilling is the use of a funnel. However, use of a funnel entails several disadvantages. Liquid is still spilled quite easily over the edge of the funnel, the funnel can easily become dislodged, a funnel occupies relatively much space when not in use and when a funnel is used, an inner surface of the funnel wetted with liquid is relatively exposed, so that it can easily be touched by a user causing soiling of the user's hand.

Another approach for avoiding spilling, which is commonly used when pouring fuel from a portable tank into a tank of for instance a car or a boat, is to pour the liquid via a pour spout which is coupled to an opening of the container from which liquid is to be poured. A problem associated with the use of pour spouts is that venting of the container from which liquid is poured is needed for controlled and reasonably quick pouring of the liquid. To that end portable fuel tanks are typically provided with a venting opening at a distance from the opening to which the pour spout is to be coupled. However, in particular in applications in which the container is disposable, the added costs and complexity of such a venting opening, which needs to be closed during storage and transport and needs to be opened prior to pouring, is a serious disadvantage. It is also known to provide a venting conduit extending through the pour spout, but such solutions add to the costs of the pour spout and generally do not provide effective venting during pouring.

It is noted that KR200439003Y1 discloses a pour spout according to the pre-characterizing portion of the appended independent claim 1.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide at least an alternative solution for pouring a liquid from a container into a filling opening without spilling, which is simple and fool proof in use, and which provides effective venting without spilling during pouring.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by providing a pour spout according to the appended independent claim 1. Preferable embodiments of the invention are provided by the appended dependent claims 2-7.

Because a venting channel interrupts the sealing surface or surfaces for allowing venting of the container through a passage between the coupling cap portion of the pour spout and a portion of the container facing the venting channel, the venting channel is achieved in a particularly simple manner by just leaving some material out inside the coupling cap portion. Furthermore, because the venting channel extends along a surface portion of the coupling cap portion, an outside end of the venting channel is at a side of the coupling cap portion facing away from the pour conduit, i.e. at an extreme proximal end of the pour spout. This extreme proximal end of the pour spout is vertically most elevated over the distal end of the pour channel during pouring with the conduit portion pointing generally downwards from the coupling cap portion. Due to this maximized difference in level between the outside end of the venting channel and the downstream end of the pour channel during pouring, venting reliably occurs via the venting channel, so that liquid does not tend to flow out via the venting channel.

The venting channel between the coupling cap portion and the container causes that the pour spout is not hermetically sealed at the interface to the coupling cap portion. This is no problem, because the pour spout is mounted instead of a hermetically sealing closure cap. If pouring has to be stopped before all of the contents of the container has been poured out, the pour spout can be removed from the container, which can then be re-closed hermetically using the closure cap.

It is noted that the pour spout which is known from the above-mentioned document KR200439003Y1 does not have a venting channel, let alone a venting channel according to the characterizing portion of the appended independent claim 1.

Further features, effects and details of the invention appear from the detailed description and the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of an example of a container provided with an example of a pour spout according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the pour spout shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the pour spout shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and of a portion of a neck of a container;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the pour spout shown in FIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the pour spout shown in FIGS. 1-4; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of a container and pour spout of FIG. 1 in use for refilling an ‘Adblue’ tank of a passenger car.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the drawings, an example of a pour spout 1 according to the invention is shown. In FIGS. 1 and 6, the pour spout 1 is shown mounted on an example of a container 2, which can be provided as part of a kit including a container according to the invention. In FIG. 4 a cut-away portion of a neck portion 12 of the container 2 extending around an opening 13 is also shown. Preferably, such a kit also includes a closure cap (not shown) for hermetically closing off the container 2 for storage and transport. The pour spout 1 and the container 2 can for instance be made from plastic material. The container 2 can for instance be blow molded from an injection molded preform and the pour spout can for instance be completely injection molded or blow molded from an injection molded preform and subsequently be cut open at a free end. However other materials for the container and/or the pour spout, such as glass or metal are conceivable as well.

The pour spout 1 has an elongate conduit portion 3 projecting from a coupling cap portion 4. A pour channel 5 (see FIGS. 3 and 5) extends in a longitudinal direction through the conduit portion 3. The coupling cap portion 4 is arranged for coupling to a container 2 with the pour channel 5 in communication with the opening 13 of the container 2. First, second and third sealing surfaces 6, 7, 8 of the coupling cap portion 4 sealingly engage the container 2 around the opening 13 when the pour spout 1 has been mounted to the container 2. In this example, a third one of the sealing surfaces 8 is a generally cylindrical internal surface provided with an internal thread 9 for engaging and sealing against a matching external thread 14 on the neck portion around the opening in the container. However, alternative solutions for connecting the connecting cap portion to the container can be implemented as well, for instance a bayonet catch coupling, a coupling based on clamping engagement between the neck or opening of the container and coupling cap portion or a coupling with a snap member arranged for hooking behind a retention edge of the neck surrounding the opening of the container.

For additional sealing, the coupling cap portion 4 has a rib 10 projecting axially in a direction away from the conduit portion 3 and extending around an area proximally adjacent to a proximal end 11 of the pour channel 5. The first one of the sealing surfaces 6 is provided on an outer surface of the rib 10 and tapers from a largest diameter to a smaller at a free end rim 15 of the rib 10 for wedging against an interior surface 16 of the opening 13 of the container 2 to which the pour spout 1 is coupled, to reliably seal against that interior surface 16.

The second seal surface 7 is a generally planar, annular surface extending around the rib 10, for contacting a top end rim surface 17 of the neck 12 of the container 2. While in the present example three sealing surfaces are provided, also more or less sealing surfaces can be provided, e.g. one, two or four sealing surfaces. If a plurality of sealing surfaces is provided, these can be arranged in a coaxial of other configuration.

A venting channel 18 interrupts the sealing surfaces for allowing venting of the container 2 through a passage between the coupling cap portion 4 and a portion of the container 2, in this example the neck 12, facing the venting channel 18. The venting channel 18 is provided in the form of a recess in the third sealing surface 8, which extends axially from a proximal end of the third sealing surface to a distal end of the third sealing surface. At the distal end of the third sealing surface, the venting channel 18 continues as a recess in the second sealing surface and an opening in the rib 10 interrupting the first sealing surface 6. Thus, the venting channel 18 provides a passage between the neck 12 of the container 2 and the coupling cap portion of the pour spout, which forms an interruption of the first, second and third sealing surfaces 6, 7 and 8 of the coupling cap portion 4, which allows air to pass along these surfaces into the container during pouring via the pour channel 5. The venting channel 18 is obtained in a particularly simple manner by just leaving some material out inside the coupling cap portion 4. For instance in an injection mold this can be achieved in a simple manner by providing a protrusion on a core for molding the inside of the coupling cap portion 4.

Furthermore, because the venting channel 18 extends along a surface portion 8 of the coupling cap portion 4, an outside end of the venting channel 18 is at a side of the coupling cap portion 4 facing away from the pour conduit 5, i.e. at an extreme proximal end of the pour spout 1. As is illustrated by FIG. 6, this extreme proximal end of the pour spout 1 is vertically most elevated over the distal end of the pour channel 5 during pouring with the conduit portion 3 pointing generally downwards from the coupling cap portion. Due to this maximized difference in level between the outside end of the venting channel 18 and the downstream end of the pour channel 5 during pouring, venting reliably occurs via the venting channel 18, so that liquid does not tend to flow out via the venting channel 18.

The venting channel 18 between the coupling cap portion 4 and the container 2 causes that the pour spout 1 is not hermetically sealed at the interface to the container 2. This is no problem, because the pour spout 1 is mounted to the container 2 instead of a hermetically sealing closure cap. If pouring has to be stopped before all of the contents of the container 2 has been poured out, the pour spout 1 can be removed from the container 2, which can then be re-closed hermetically using the closure cap.

In the present example of a pour spout 1 according to the invention, venting channel 18 is provided on one single lateral side of the cap portion 4 only. This counteracts leaking of liquid through a venting channel, while the container is vented through another venting channel, in particular if the conduit portion is held in a generally horizontal position.

The cap portion 4 has an internal end surface (in this example formed by the second sealing surface 7) having an outer circumferential portion extending in a plane 19 (see FIG. 3). The longitudinal direction of the conduit portion 3 is oriented at an oblique angle α relative to the plane 19. The lateral side where the venting channel 18 is provided is in a radial direction 20 (see FIG. 5) in which an angle α between the longitudinal direction of the conduit portion 3 and the plane 19 is smallest. This is advantageous for allowing easy pouring of the liquid into an opening in a flank of a vehicle 21 for filling up the ‘Adblue’ tank (FIG. 6).

For ease of pouring of the liquid into an opening in a flank of a vehicle 21 it is further advantageous if the container 2 has a largest dimension in a direction perpendicular to the plane 19. Thus, the container 2 can be tilted very far, before it contacts the flank of the vehicle 21.

To allow the conduit portion 3 to point obliquely downwards and laterally into the filling opening of the car 21, while the container 2 is held upside down, the conduit portion 3 of the spout 1 is preferably pointing in a direction deflected towards the car 21 compared to a direction perpendicular to the plane 19. When the container 2 and the pour spout 1 are tilted into such an orientation from an orientation in which the container 2 is generally upright, the pour spout 1′ and the container 2′ pass through intermediate positions in which the conduit portion 3′ is oriented approximately horizontally, with the side of the coupling cap portion 4 where the angle α between the longitudinal direction of the conduit portion 3 and the plane 19 is smallest facing upwards. Because the venting channel 18 is then located only on the most upwardly facing side of the coupling cap portion 4, the liquid reaches the venting channel 18 only when the liquid starts to flow out of the pour channel 5 over the full cross-section of the pour channel 5. Accordingly, when the liquid reaches the venting channel 18, a partial vacuum already starts to be created inside the container 2. This in turn forces air in through the venting channel 18, so that spilling of liquid via the venting channel 18 is effectively counteracted. It is also noted that already when the conduit portion 3 is pointing in a generally horizontal direction, the venting channel 18 opens into the environment at a level above a distal (outlet) end of the pour channel 5. Accordingly, static liquid pressure is lower where the venting channel 18 opens into the environment than at the distal (outlet) end of the pour channel 5. Thus, venting air will enters the container 2 more easily via the venting channel 18 than via the pour channel 5, so when the container 2 and the pour spout 1 are is tilted in the most convenient way for pouring a liquid into an opening in a flank of a car, as liquid starts to flow out and reaches the venting channel, venting will (almost) immediately start via the venting channel 18 and no or only very little liquid will flow out via the venting channel.

For avoiding leakage of liquid via the venting channel 18, it is furthermore advantageous if, as in the present example, the venting channel 18 has a first section in a cylindrical, radially inwardly facing surface 8 of the coupling cap portion 4 and a second section connecting to that first section extending radially in an end surface 7 extending inwardly from the cylindrical, radially inwardly facing surface 8. The radial portion adds to the difference in levels between the outlet end of the pour channel 5 and of the outer end of the venting channel 18 when the conduit portion 3 is pointing in a generally horizontal direction, while the axial portion of the venting channel adds to the difference in levels between the outlet end of the pour channel 5 and of the outer end of the venting channel 18 when the conduit portion 3 is pointing in a generally vertical downward direction. Furthermore, if at the start of pouring any liquid enters the venting channel, the combined length of these first and second sections of the venting channel 18 cause to flow path to be long enough to avoid all or most of that liquid exits the venting channel 18 into the environment before venting via the venting channel 18 urges that liquid back into the container 2.

For reliable venting at one location only, and thus further reducing any leakage via the venting channel 18, it is furthermore advantageous that the venting channel 18 breaks through the rib 10.

Since the venting channel 18 is provided in the form of a continuous groove in the coupling cap portion 4, it can be formed in a simple low-cost manner, while it is reliably ensured that the venting channel is open even if large manufacturing tolerances are allowed for the container neck 12 and for the coupling cap portion 4.

For ensuring that air entering via the venting channel 18 entrains any liquid that has entered the venting channel 18 back into the container 2, it is preferred that the venting channel has a cross-sectional area of less than 40 mm² and more preferably less than 30 mm2 and more preferably less than 25 mm². On the other hand, the cross-section of the venting channel 18 should large enough to allow enough air to enter the container to allow smooth and quick pouring. To that end, the venting channel preferably has a cross-sectional area of more than 4 mm² and more preferably more than 6 and more preferably more than 9 mm².

As best seen in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the coupling cap portion 4 has a locally protruding portion on its exterior side that faces away from the venting channel 18. This locally protruding portion provides the advantage that the cross-section of the venting channel 18 can be designed large enough to allow enough air to enter the container, without needing to thicken the complete coupling cap portion 4 for that purpose. In the shown example it is seen that the locally protruding portion is extending both in a region facing away from the above-mentioned first section of the venting channel 18, and in a region facing away from the above-mentioned second section of the venting channel 18. Alternative embodiments are possible where such a locally protruding portion is extending only in a region facing away from said first section, or in a region facing away from said second section. 

1. A pour spout comprising: a coupling cap portion; and an elongate conduit portion projecting from the coupling cap portion, wherein a pour channel extends in a longitudinal direction through the elongate conduit portion, wherein the coupling cap portion is arranged for coupling to a container with the pour channel in communication with an opening of the container, wherein at least one sealing surface of the coupling cap portion is arranged for sealingly engaging the container around the opening, wherein the coupling cap portion has an internal end surface having an outer circumferential portion extending in a plane, wherein the longitudinal direction of the elongate conduit portion is oriented at an oblique angle relative to the plane, wherein, in use where the coupling cap portion engages the container, a venting channel space of the coupling cap portion interrupts the at least one sealing surface of the coupling cap portion for allowing venting of the container through a passage formed between the coupling cap portion and a portion of the container facing the venting channel space, wherein the venting channel space is provided on one single lateral side of the coupling cap portion only, and wherein the one single lateral side of the coupling cap where the venting channel space is provided is in a radial direction in which an angle between the longitudinal direction of the conduit portion and the plane is smallest.
 2. The pour spout according to claim 1, wherein the coupling cap portion has a locally protruding portion on an exterior side that faces away from the venting channel space.
 3. The pour spout according to claim 1, wherein the venting channel space includes: a first section in a cylindrical, radially inwardly facing surface of the coupling cap portion, and a second section connecting to said first section extending radially in an end surface extending inwardly from the cylindrical, radially inwardly facing surface.
 4. The pour spout according to claim 3, further comprising an annular rib around an end of the pour channel and projecting from the end surface, wherein the venting channel space extends through the annular rib.
 5. The pour spout according to claim 1, wherein the venting channel space is provided in the form of a continuous groove in the coupling cap portion.
 6. A kit comprising: a container; and a pour spout comprising: a coupling cap portion: and an elongate conduit portion projecting from the coupling cap portion, wherein a pour channel extends in a longitudinal direction through the elongate conduit portion, wherein the coupling cap portion is arranged for coupling to a container with the pour channel in communication with an opening of the container, wherein at least one sealing surface of the coupling cap portion is arranged for sealingly engaging the container around the opening, wherein the coupling cap portion has an internal end surface having an outer circumferential portion extending in a plane, wherein the longitudinal direction of the elongate conduit portion is oriented at an oblique angle relative to the plane, wherein, in use where the coupling cap portion engages the container, a venting channel space of the coupling cap portion interrupts the at least one sealing surface of the coupling cap portion for allowing venting of the container through a passage formed between the coupling cap portion and a portion of the container facing the venting channel space, wherein the venting channel space is provided on one single lateral side of the coupling cap portion only, and wherein the one single lateral side of the coupling cap where the venting channel space is provided is in a radial direction in which an angle between the longitudinal direction of the conduit portion and the plane is smallest; wherein, in use where the coupling cap portion engages the container, the venting channel space extends between the coupling cap portion of the pour spout and a neck flange extending around the opening of the container.
 7. The kit according to claim 6, wherein the coupling cap portion has an internal end surface having an outer circumferential portion extending in a plane, and wherein the container has a largest dimension in a direction perpendicular to the plane.
 8. The kit according to claim 6, wherein the coupling cap portion has a locally protruding portion on an exterior side that faces away from the venting channel space.
 9. The kit according to claim 6, wherein the venting channel space includes: a first section in a cylindrical, radially inwardly facing surface of the coupling cap portion, and a second section connecting to said first section extending radially in an end surface extending inwardly from the cylindrical, radially inwardly facing surface.
 10. The kit according to claim 9, further comprising an annular rib around an end of the pour channel and projecting from the end surface, wherein the venting channel space extends through the annular rib.
 11. The kit according to claim 6, wherein the venting channel space is provided in the form of a continuous groove in the coupling cap portion. 